Wole Soyinka Demands Federal Government Apology to Sunday Igboho Over 2021 Home !nvasion
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to tender a public apology to Yoruba Nation agitator, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, over the unlawful invasion of his Ibadan residence by security operatives in 2021.
Soyinka, in a recent statement, described the midnight raid carried out by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Army on July 1, 2021, as unjustifiable, criminal, and an abuse of state power. He noted that the incident not only violated Igboho’s rights but also represented a broader pattern of government impunity and disregard for due process.
He stressed that the Federal Government owes Igboho and the entire Yoruba Nation movement an unreserved apology for the loss of lives, destruction of property, and trauma inflicted on innocent citizens during the operation.
Soyinka maintained that no government has the right to invade a citizen’s home in the dead of night, destroy property, and shed blood, only to later find no credible evidence of wrongdoing. He said the rule of law must be upheld at all times, and when the state errs, it must apologize and make amends.
The literary icon emphasized that the time had come for Nigeria to redefine justice and accountability, adding that acts of repression against peaceful agitators only deepen mistrust between the people and the government.
Sunday Igboho, a prominent Yoruba activist, gained national attention for his campaign against banditry and kidnapping in the South-West. The 2021 raid on his Ibadan residence led to the death of two of his aides and his eventual arrest in Benin Republic, where he fled for safety.
